C. Ronaldo Tops The List Of Ballon D’OR NOMINEES

Cristiano Ronaldo headlines a 23-man shortlist for the Ballon d’Or announced by FIFA on Tuesday.
Ronaldo tops the list after claiming his first FIFA Ballon d’Or trophy in January. He remains the heavy favorite to retain the trophy in 2014 after his glittering performances drove Real Madrid to its 10th European title in the spring, but he will face considerable competition from other luminaries during this World Cup year.
World Cup winners Germany contribute six players to the 23-man list with Thomas Müller and Manuel Neuer perhaps the strongest candidates in that group, while Lionel Messi headlines a trio of Argentinian representatives after his exploits spurred his country to second place in Brazil. Arjen Robben also warrants consideration for his performances spurred Netherlands to a third-place finish, while Neymar makes the list as well from the host nation despite his tournament-altering injury.
The influx of World Cup standouts — including Colombian star James Rodriguez and French fulcrum Paul Pogba — squeezed the list of candidates. Gareth Bale (Real Madrid), Diego Costa (Atletico Madrid and Chelsea) and Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Paris Saint-Germain) all earned their way onto the shortlist through their club displays, but Franck Ribery missed out after finishing third in the voting a year ago.
Barcelona and Uruguay forward Luis Suarez also found himself excluded after biting Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini during the World Cup. Suarez returned from the subsequent ban imposed for that act in the 3-1 defeat to Real Madrid on Saturday. Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti and Germany manager Joachim Löw rank as the top candidates on the 10-man shortlist for FIFA World Coach of the Year. United States coach Jürgen Klinsmann also landed a place on that exclusive list after steering the Americans to the round of 16.
The winners will be announced at a ceremony in Zurich, Switzerland on Jan. 12.
Complete list of FIFA Ballon d’Or nominees
Gareth Bale (Wales); Karim Benzema (France); Diego Costa (Spain); Thibaut Courtois (Belgium); Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal); Angel Di Maria (Argentina); Mario Götze (Germany); Eden Hazard (Belgium); Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Sweden); Andres Iniesta (Spain); Toni Kroos (Germany); Philipp Lahm (Germany); Javier Mascherano (Argentina); Lionel Messi (Argentina); Thomas Müller (Germany); Manuel Neuer (Germany); Neymar (Brazil); Paul Pogba (France); Sergio Ramos (Spain); Arjen Robben (Netherlands); James Rodriguez (Colombia); Bastian Schweinsteiger (Germany); Yaya Toure (Côte d’Ivoire)
Complete list of FIFA World Coach of the Year candidates
Carlo Ancelotti (Italy/Real Madrid CF); Antonio Conte (Italy/Juventus FC/Italy national team); Pep Guardiola (Spain/FC Bayern Munich); Jürgen Klinsmann (Germany/USA national team); Joachim Löw (Germany/Germany national team); Jose Mourinho (Portugal/Chelsea FC); Manuel Pellegrini (Chile/Manchester City FC); Alejandro Sabella (Argentina/Argentina national team); Diego Simeone (Argentina/Atletico Madrid); Louis van Gaal (Netherlands/Netherlands national team/Manchester United FC)